Electrical pulses improved survival in sea squirt colonies
Twelve months after stimulation, 9 of 12 colonies remained alive, compared with 2 of 12 unstimulated colonies.
Limit: Tank conditions could explain survival differences; stimulated and control colonies were kept separately
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In a laboratory experiment, colonies of Botryllus schlosseri, a sea squirt, showed increased growth, reproductive activity and survival after electrical stimulation. The chosen regimen used three five-minute sessions of 20-milliamp current at 150 pulses per minute, with 20-minute intervals.
Young stimulated colonies produced more buds and individual animals by day 23 than controls. Reproductive organs appeared in 7 of 9 treated young colonies, compared with 1 of 9 untreated colonies. Analyses also revealed changes in gene activity in young colonies. Many genes involved in energy production and tissue structure became less active at two hours, then more active at 24 hours. The authors described this pattern as a “reboot and rebound.”
Why it matters
In this species, aging is driven by changes in precursor cells that generate new organs each week. That makes it a model for studying the connection between cell renewal and longevity.
Caveats
Stimulated and control colonies were kept in separate tanks, and the survival comparison involved 12 colonies per group. These invertebrate results do not establish benefits in people.
- Electrical stimulation
- Cellular homeostasis
- Extracellular matrix remodeling
- Immunometabolic signature
- Reparative immunometabolic signature
- B. schlosseri
The paper
Electrical stimulation promotes longevity and regeneration in a colonial chordate
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
PNAS, May 26, 2026, Open access
Comments
Be the first to comment.